Nanocavity monolayer laser monolithically integrated with LED pump

ABSTRACT

A laser structure includes a substrate, a buffer layer formed on the substrate and a light emitting diode (LED) formed on the buffer layer. A photonic crystal layer is formed on the LED. A monolayer semiconductor nanocavity laser is formed on the photonic crystal layer for receiving light through the photonic crystal layer from the LED, wherein the LED and the laser are formed monolithically and the LED acts as an optical pump for the laser.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present invention relates to lasers, and more particularly to amonolithically integrated laser that is optically pumped by a lightemitting diode.

Description of the Related Art

Enhanced light output for nanoscale lasers enables accurate andrepeatable output in many technical environments. For example,nanolasers can be modulated quickly and, combined with their smallfootprint, can be employed for on-chip optical computing. The intenseoptical fields of such a laser also enable the enhancement effect innon-linear optics or surface-enhanced-Raman-scattering (SERS), and canbe employed in integrated nanophotonic circuits.

SUMMARY

A laser structure includes a substrate, a buffer layer formed on thesubstrate and a light emitting diode (LED) formed on the buffer layer. Aphotonic crystal layer is formed on the LED. A monolayer semiconductornanocavity laser is formed on the photonic crystal layer for receivinglight through the photonic crystal layer from the LED, wherein the LEDand the laser are formed monolithically and the LED acts as an opticalpump for the laser.

A laser structure includes a Si or Ge substrate and a III-V buffer layerformed on the substrate. A light emitting diode (LED) is formed on thebuffer layer and configured to produce visible light. A lens is disposedon the LED to focus light from the LED. A photonic crystal layer isformed on the LED to receive the light focused by the lens. A monolayersemiconductor nanocavity laser is formed on the photonic crystal layerfor receiving light through the photonic crystal layer from the LED,wherein the LED and the laser are formed monolithically and the LED actsas an optical pump for the laser.

A method for forming a pumped laser structure includes forming a III-Vbuffer layer on a substrate including one of Si or Ge; forming a lightemitting diode (LED) on the buffer layer configured to produce athreshold pump power; forming a photonic crystal layer on the LED anddepositing a monolayer semiconductor nanocavity laser on the photoniccrystal layer for receiving light through the photonic crystal layerfrom the LED with an optical pump power greater than the threshold pumppower, wherein the LED and the laser are formed monolithically and theLED functions as an optical pump for the laser.

These and other features and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof,which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will provide details in the following description ofpreferred embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a laser structureincluding a light emitting diode optical light pump for a monolayersemiconductor nanocavity laser in accordance with the presentprinciples;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional schematic view of a laser structureincluding a light emitting diode optical light pump having emitted lightfocused by a lens for a monolayer semiconductor nanocavity laser inaccordance with the present principles;

FIG. 2B is a top view of the lens for FIG. 2A in accordance with thepresent principles; and

FIG. 3 is a block/flow diagram for forming a pumped laser structure inaccordance with one illustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with the present principles, lasers, and more specificallynanolasers are provided that increase output power. In one embodiment,the nanolasers employ an optical pump to increase their output. Byemploying monolayer semiconductor lasers, the optical pump may beprovided by a light emitting diode (LED). In a particularly usefulembodiment, the LED can be monolithically integrated with the laser. Inthis way, efficiency and power are maximized. In addition, a compact andpowerful laser can be integrated into integrated circuit (IC) devicesand may include on-chip lasing applications.

In one embodiment, a monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide laser maybe formed on the LED. The monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide mayinclude WSe₂, although other materials may be employed. The laser may beformed on a photonic crystal cavity to further enhance light outputpower. The photonic crystal cavity is formed on the LED, and the LED mayinclude III-V materials, although other materials may also be employed.

It is to be understood that the present invention will be described interms of a given illustrative architecture; however, otherarchitectures, structures, substrate materials and process features andsteps may be varied within the scope of the present invention.

It will also be understood that when an element such as a layer, regionor substrate is referred to as being “on” or “over” another element, itcan be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also bepresent. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directlyon” or “directly over” another element, there are no interveningelements present. It will also be understood that when an element isreferred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it canbe directly connected or coupled to the other element or interveningelements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to asbeing “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element,there are no intervening elements present.

The present embodiments may be integrated on ICs. A design for anintegrated circuit chip may be created in a graphical computerprogramming language, and stored in a computer storage medium (such as adisk, tape, physical hard drive, or virtual hard drive such as in astorage access network). If the designer does not fabricate chips or thephotolithographic masks used to fabricate chips, the designer maytransmit the resulting design by physical means (e.g., by providing acopy of the storage medium storing the design) or electronically (e.g.,through the Internet) to such entities, directly or indirectly. Thestored design is then converted into the appropriate format (e.g.,GDSII) for the fabrication of photolithographic masks, which typicallyinclude multiple copies of the chip design in question that are to beformed on a wafer. The photolithographic masks are utilized to defineareas of the wafer (and/or the layers thereon) to be etched or otherwiseprocessed.

Methods as described herein may be used in the fabrication of integratedcircuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributedby the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that hasmultiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form. In thelatter case the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as aplastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or otherhigher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramiccarrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buriedinterconnections). In any case the chip is then integrated with otherchips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devicesas part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or(b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includesintegrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-endapplications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboardor other input device, and a central processor.

It should also be understood that material compounds will be describedin terms of listed elements, e.g., GaInP, InGaAs, AlGaInP, etc. Thesecompounds include different proportions of the elements within thecompound, e.g., InGaAs includes In_(x)Ga_(y)As_(1-x-y), where x, y areless than or equal to 1, etc. In addition, other elements may beincluded in the compound, such as, e.g., AlInGaAs, and still function inaccordance with the present principles. The compounds with additionalelements will be referred to herein as alloys.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” ofthe present principles, as well as other variations thereof, means thata particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the present principles. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment”, as well any other variations,appearing in various places throughout the specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following “/”,“and/or”, and “at least one of”, for example, in the cases of “A/B”, “Aand/or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A andB). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and/or C” and “at leastone of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listedoption (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listedoptions (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listedoptions (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listedoptions (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and Band C). This may be extended, as readily apparent by one of ordinaryskill in this and related arts, for as many items listed.

Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the sameor similar elements and initially to FIG. 1, an optically pumped laser10 is shown in accordance with one illustrative embodiment. The laser 10is formed on a substrate 12. The substrate 12 may include any suitablemonocrystalline material. In one particularly useful embodiment, thesubstrate 12 may include Ge or Si. While other materials may beemployed, e.g., GaAs, etc., Ge and/or Si provide the most beneficialmaterials due to their availability and ease of manufacture. In otherembodiments, the substrate 12 may include a semiconductor-on-insulator(SOI) structure. The SOI structure includes a base substrate, a burieddielectric layer (e.g., oxide) and a thinner semiconductor layer. Thesemiconductor layer may include Si (silicon-on-insulator) or Ge(germanium-on-insulator). Some advantages for employing silicon orgermanium substrates 12 include the larger size (more chips per wafer),reduced cost over substrates made with other materials (e.g., III-Vmaterials) and silicon or germanium substrates are compatible withcommon processing techniques and platforms.

A buffer layer 14 is grown on the substrate 12. The buffer layer 14 mayinclude a monocrystalline structure. The buffer layer 14 may be grownusing molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) or metal organic chemical vapordeposition (MOCVD), although other processes may be employed to growmonocrystalline materials. The buffer layer 14 being grown on thesubstrate 12 may include an interface material that attempts to minimizedislocation defects due to lattice mismatch between the substrate 12 andthe buffer layer 14 materials. The materials for the buffer layer 14 mayinclude, e.g., GaAs, AlGaAs, InP, InGaAs, GaN, GaP, or other III-Vmaterials or combinations thereof.

Once the buffer layer 14 is formed, additional layers may be formed onthe buffer layer 14 to fabricate a light emitting diode 16. In oneembodiment, III-V materials are grown on the buffer layer 14 to form thediode 16. The diode 16 may include AlGaAs, AlGaNInP or other materials.The diode 16 includes n and p doped active regions to form a p-njunction or junctions. The buffer layer 14 and the layers forming thediode 16 may be patterned in a single lithographic processing step.

It should be understood that a plurality of different diode structuresmay be employed in diode layer 16. In particularly useful embodiments, aTS-LED (transparent substrate) may be employed, although other types ofdiodes may be employed, e.g., ODR-LED (omni-direction reflector),DBR-LED (distributed Bragg reflector), etc. The diode 16 needs toachieve a threshold pump power to be useful as an optical pump. In oneembodiment, the threshold power needed to achieve the pump threshold is,e.g., about 100 mW/mm². An AlGaInP (or AlGaAs) TS-LED (16) can achievethis threshold power (e.g., 100 mW/mm²) at room temperature (e.g.,300K).

In one embodiment, LED 16 provides a 25 mW output using a 40 mAinjection current over an area of 0.25 mm² to achieve the threshold pumppower (e.g., 25 mW/0.25 mm²=100 mW/mm²). Other diode types may also beemployed. In one embodiment, the LED provides a wavelength output ofless than 740 nm to be compatible with some laser structures, as will bedescribed.

A photonic crystal layer 18 is formed on the LED 16. In one embodiment,the photonic crystal layer 18 includes silicon dioxide (SiO₂ or silica),which is transparent at visible wavelengths (e.g., less than 740 nm),and silicon materials are low cost, compatible with electronics andestablished fabrication techniques. Perturbation cavities are providedthat modulate the index of refraction in a waveguide system that includelow index materials. This creates high-Q cavities in the two dimensionalphotonic crystal layer 18. The photonic crystal layer 18 guides lightemitted from the LED 16 to a monolayer semiconductor nanocavity laser 20such that the light from the LED 16 pumps the laser 20 to providesufficient pump power to lase light in the laser 20.

The laser 20 is comprised of materials that preferably include achemical formula of MX₂, where M is W or Mo, and X is S, Se or Te. Inone particularly useful embodiment, the laser 20 includes a single layer(monolayer) of WSe₂. The monolayer WSe₂ laser 20 has a low thresholdvalue (e.g., 100 mW/sq. mm) and outputs laser light 22 using light fromthe LED 16 to pump the laser 20. The thickness of the laser 20 may beless than about 1 nm (e.g., about 0.7 nm for WSe₂).

Referring to FIG. 2A, another optically pumped laser 110 is shown inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. The laser 110 is formed on asubstrate 12. The substrate 12 may include any suitable monocrystallinematerial, e.g., Ge or Si. In other embodiments, the substrate 12 mayinclude a semiconductor-on-insulator structure (SOI). The semiconductorlayer of the SOI may include Si (silicon on-insulator) or Ge(germanium-on-insulator). The buffer layer 14 is grown on the substrate12. The buffer layer 14 may include a monocrystalline structure. Thebuffer layer 14 may be grown using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) or metalorganic chemical vapor deposition NOCVD), although other processes maybe employed to grow monocrystalline materials. The materials for thebuffer layer 14 may include, e.g., GaAs, AlGaAs, InP, InGaAs, GaN, GaP,or other III-V materials or combinations thereof.

Once the buffer layer 14 is formed, additional layers may be formed onthe buffer layer 14 to fabricate the light emitting diode 16, e.g.,AlGaAs, AlGaNInP or other materials. The diode 16 includes n and p dopedactive regions to form a p-n junction or junctions.

In a particularly useful embodiment, a lens 24 is formed on the LED 16.The lens 24 may include different structures and is employed to assistin focusing the LED light 26. In one embodiment, the lens 24 includes aplurality of concentric rings 28 as a diffraction grating (e.g., agrating lens). The rings 28 may include opaque dielectric materialspaced apart by gaps 30. The gap spacing can be determined in accordancewith the wavelength of light being focused. In other embodiments, therings 28 and gaps 30 may include materials with different indices ofrefraction. In one embodiment, the rings 28 may include a metal or othermaterial. In other embodiments, the lens 24 may include an optical lenshaving a curvature or geometric difference to focus the LED light 26.

FIG. 2A schematically shows the lens 24 separated from the photoniccrystal 18. A layer 32 may be disposed between the lens 24 the photoniccrystal 18. The layer 32 may include an air gap, a transparentdielectric material, a refractive index matched material or any othersuitable material.

The photonic crystal layer 18 is formed over the lens 24 and over theLED 16. The photonic crystal layer 18 may include silicon dioxide (SiO₂or silica). Perturbation cavities are provided that modulate the indexof refraction in a waveguide system that include low index materials.This creates high-Q cavities in the two dimensional photonic crystallayer 18. The photonic crystal layer 18 guides light focused by the lens24 to the monolayer semiconductor nanocavity laser 20 such that thelight from the LED 16 pumps the laser 20 to provide sufficient pumppower to lase light in the laser 20. The laser 20 preferably includes atwo-dimensional laser with a monolayer of WSe₂.

The laser 20 preferably includes a chemical formula of MX₂, where M is Wor Mo, and X is S, Se or Te. In one particularly useful embodiment, thelaser 20 includes a single layer (monolayer) of WSe₂.

Referring to FIG. 2B, a top view is illustratively shown for the lens 24in accordance with one illustrative embodiment. The lens 24 includesconcentric rings 28 separated by gaps 30 to form a grating (e.g., adiffraction grating). The rings 28 may include a dielectric layer (e.g.,silicon oxide, silicon nitride) etched into concentric circles. Thediameters of the concentric circles are chosen properly so that thelight of the LED emission wavelength is focused into the center of theconcentric circles.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method for forming a pumped laser structure isshown in accordance with the present principles. In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

In block 102, a III-V buffer layer is formed on a substrate. Thesubstrate preferably includes one of Si or Ge, although other materialsmay be employed, e.g., III-V materials. The substrate may include asilicon or germanium on-insulator structure. In block 104, a lightemitting diode (LED) is formed on the buffer layer. The LED ispreferably configured to produce visible light, although otherwavelengths may also be implemented. In particularly useful embodiments,light having a wavelength less than 740 nm may be produced by the LED.The LED is configured to produce a threshold pump power. If a WSe₂ laseris employed, the threshold pump power is about 100 mW/mm². The LED mayinclude a plurality of different LED structures including, e.g., TS-LED,DBR-LED, ODR-LED or any other LED capable of providing threshold powerfor the type of laser selected.

In block 106, an optional lens may be provided between the LED and aphotonic crystal cavity. The lens focuses light from the LED on thephotonic crystal layer. The lens may include a diffraction gratingappropriately dimensioned in accordance with the wavelength of lightemitted from the LED. The lens may include an optical lens or any otherlens capable of directing and focusing light from the LED.

In block 108, a photonic crystal layer may be formed or provided on theLED. This layer may be included to assist in guiding or directing lightbetween the LED to a laser. In one embodiment, the photonic crystallayer includes a silicon oxide photonic crystal layer.

In block 110, a monolayer semiconductor nanocavity laser is deposited onthe photonic crystal layer. The laser receives light through thephotonic crystal layer from the LED with an optical pump power greaterthan the threshold pump power so that the laser can lase light. The LEDand the laser are preferably formed monolithically (same structure). TheLED functions as an optical pump for the laser. In one especially usefulembodiment, the laser includes a monolayer of WSe₂, although othermaterials may be employed.

Having described preferred embodiments for a monolithically integratedlaser with LED pump (which are intended to be illustrative and notlimiting), it is noted that modifications and variations can be made bypersons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It istherefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particularembodiments disclosed which are within the scope of the invention asoutlined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A laser structure including a nanocavitylaser and light emitting diode (LED) monolithically formed within thelaser structure, comprising: a substrate including at least one ofsilicon (Si) and germanium (Ge); a buffer layer including a III-Vmaterial and having a first surface finned directly on the substrate,the buffer layer including an interface material to reduce dislocationdefects due to lattice mismatch between the at least one of Si and Ge ofthe substrate and the III-V material of the buffer layer; a lightemitting diode (LED) formed directly on a second surface of the bufferlayer; a photonic crystal layer formed on the LED; and a nanocavitylaser including a monolayer of a transition metal dichalcogenide formedon the photonic crystal layer for receiving light through the photoniccrystal layer from the LED to optically pump the nanocavity laser, thetransition metal dichalcogenide having a chemical formula of MX₂, whereM is selected from the group consisting of: W and Mo and X is selectedfrom the group consisting of: S, Se and Te, wherein the buffer layerreduces the dislocation defects to allow for the formation of the LEDwithin the laser structure.
 2. The laser structure as recited in claim1, wherein the transition metal dichalcogenide is WSe₂.
 3. The laserstructure as recited in claim 1, wherein the LED includes a III-Vmaterial.
 4. The laser structure as recited in claim 1, wherein thephotonic crystal layer includes SiO₂ and the LED produces visible light.5. The laser structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the light from theLED is received by the monolayer of the transition metal dichalcogenideat a given power to enable the laser to produce laser light by opticallypumping the laser at the given power in order to achieve at least athreshold value corresponding to the monolayer of the transition metaldichalcogenide.
 6. The laser structure as recited in claim 1, whereinthe LED includes a transparent substrate LED.
 7. The laser structure asrecited in claim 1, wherein the LED includes AlGaAs or AlGaInP material.8. The laser structure as recited in claim 1, wherein the substrateincludes a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate including at least oneof Si and Ge.
 9. The laser structure as recited in claim 5, wherein thethresholds value is about 100 mW/mm².
 10. The laser structure as recitedin claim 9, wherein the given power is about 25 mW.
 11. The laserstructure as recited in claim 10, wherein the given power is achievedusing an injection current of about 40 mA.
 12. A laser structureincluding a nanocavity laser and light emitting diode (LED)monolithically formed within the laser structure, comprising: asubstrate including at least one of silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge); abuffer layer including a III-V material and having a first surfaceformed directly on the substrate, the buffer layer including aninterface material to reduce dislocation defects due to lattice mismatchbetween the at least one of Si and Ge of the substrate and the III-Vmaterial of the buffer layer; a light emitting diode (LED) includingAlGaAs or AlGaInP formed directly on a second surface of the bufferlayer; a photonic crystal layer formed on the LED; and a nanocavitylaser including a monolayer of WSe₂ formed on the photonic crystal layerfor receiving light through the photonic crystal layer from the LED tooptically pump the nanocavity laser, wherein the buffer layer reducesthe dislocation defects to allow for the formation of the LED within thelaser structure.
 13. The laser structure as recited in claim 12, whereinthe photonic crystal layer includes SiO₂ and the LED produces visiblelight.
 14. The laser structure as recited in claim 12, wherein the lightfrom the LED is received by the monolayer of WSe₂ at a given power toenable the laser to produce laser light by optically pumping the laserat the given power in order to achieve at least a threshold valvecorresponding to the monolayer of WSe₂.
 15. The laser structure asrecited in claim 14, wherein the threshold value is about 100 mW/mm² andthe given power is about 25 mW.
 16. The laser structure as recited inclaim 15, wherein the given power is achieved using an injection currentof about 40 mA.
 17. The laser structure as recited in claim 12, whereinLED includes a transparent substrate LED.
 18. The laser structure asrecited in claim 12, wherein the substrate includes asemiconductor-on-insulator substrate including at least one of Si andGe.